Twisted Metal Release Update

Hey all! David Jaffe here with some good news and bad news on behalf of myself, my Eat Sleep Play partner and Twisted Metal co-director Scott Campbell, the entire Eat Sleep Play team, and Sony Santa Monica.

First the good news: Eat Sleep Play and Sony Santa Monica are cranking like mad to get a fantastic Twisted Metal build ready for both Gamescom and PAX Prime! For those not in the know: Gamescom is August 17th-21st in Cologne, Germany and PAX Prime will take place here in America August 26th-28th in Seattle, Washington. Both shows are open to the public but PAX – I believe- is already sold out. If you’ve got PAX Prime tickets, I can’t wait to see you there! I hope you’ll swing by the Twisted Metal booth and give our game a try!

At Gamescom and PAX we’ll be showing off a brand new level called Thrills & Spills Amusement Park! It’s one of our favorite all time Twisted Metal levels and it’s filled with the over the top destruction, strategic level choices, and twisted humor that fans of the series have come to love and expect. Players at both shows will also get hands on with TEAM HUNTED, a brand new mode that we’ll be unveiling – for the first time ever – at Gamescom. We’ll also be premiering the new Dollface story trailer which delves into just what makes that nutty-but-sexy pink-haired freak tick.

And at both shows we’ll be handing out some super cool, super creepy Sweet Tooth masks! Halloween will be here before you know it and we want Twisted Fans to be able to represent their favorite slasher in style!

Ok, so now…the bad news. Or at least the ‘news that seems bad at first but after you read the rest of my post I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s actually fantastic news’ news. So here it is:

Ugh! I know, I know. A lot of dedicated, supportive, passionate Twisted Metal fans have been waiting for the return of Calypso’s demented contest for a long time but the truth is: we’re just not ready yet.

Sony has been – and remains – a super supportive champion and collaborator on this title and all of us at Eat Sleep Play are so grateful that their patience and generosity will allow us the extra time needed to polish our demented baby until it shines. NOTE: I don’t actually think that qualifies as a mixed metaphor… just a bad one. But the ‘demented baby’ part was really cool to me, and it felt very Twisted Metal-y, so I’m keeping it in this post.

Anyway – it sucks bad when games miss their announced launch dates. We’re gamers too and we know how annoying it is. It’s disappointing and frustrating and it really takes the wind out of your sails if you’re a fan that has been looking forward to playing a title for a long time. Thing is, you gotta trust me when I tell you that – with this extra time for tuning and polish – the game is going to be so much better than it already is. And if you played Twisted Metal and liked it at E3 or Comic-Con, or if you get to play it (and you enjoy it) at one of the August shows, just imagine how much more fun the final game will be with some extra time, polish, and love.

‘A late game is only late until it ships. A bad game is bad until the end of time.’

Now, if we shipped Twisted Metal tomorrow – going off the response from folks who have played it – I assure you, it would never be a bad game. Not even close. But we’re aiming for a heck of a lot more than that! With Twisted Metal we plan to ship a multiplayer classic. We plan to ship the best Twisted Metal ever made. We plan to convert a lot of folks who think vehicle combat is a relic best left to 90’s nostalgia. And we plan to explode the belief that the only relevant kind of shooter is a first person one (or a 3rd person one, where you play a human… with a tee shirt not all the way tucked in :)…).

Most importantly, we plan on treating you – the kind folks who play our game (and pay our bills) – like the VIPs that you are. You only deserve our best and we appreciate your understanding as we take a little more time to guarantee that our best is what we deliver.

Twisted Metal for PS3 will ship early 2012. Stay tuned for more details.

134 Comments

THIS GAME BETTER COME WITH A COLLECTOR EDITION OR SOMETHING EXTRA..OR ELSE IMA BUY IS SO USED BUY THE TIME I GET IT THE NEXT TWISTED METAL WOULD BE OUT! >:P – WHO AM I KIDDING I CANT WAIT THAT LONG FOR THIS GAME..BUT STILL..USED IS A KICK IN THE BALLS FOR THE ESP AND SONY COMPANY! AND THIS IS JUST WHAT THEY DID T ALL OF US DIE HARD TWISTED METAL FANS! SMFH!!!

Disappointing to say the least about this news. Another game, another delay in what seems to be a totally acceptable practice of delayed hardware and software in the gaming industry.

We’ll all have to wait until one of the major studios steps up, sets the proper expectations for delivery, and [gulp] actually meets their deadline. Heaven forbid the gaming industry executives would have to drive a project effectively with the expectation to be on time and on budget or suffer consequences. You know, like everyone else producing software?

I think it’s so funny how you start out talking about all this convention carnival preparation and fun, then immediately translation into BUT the games not going to be done.

I demand you stay in shop to finish your game, not go out partying! No convention/party’s if your gonna miss release dates! NEW RULE!

It better be done if you release it. What about it’s going to be late but it will be done!? Are you for real?! WEAK. You made me laugh…I swear to god I bet they pushed it back for these shows and to hit closer to the holiday.

Let’s wait to see how much nerve you have, cuz I might just let your series stay in my past.

I must say, I am actually quite happy with your “bad news”. There are just SO MANY games coming out this fall that I have absolutely no way of keeping up with all of them. At least I know I’ll just be able to sit down, relax and enjoy Twisted Metal sometime next year (because honestly, I don’t think you’ll want to compete with Uncharted 3s multiplayer in those first few months…)

Take as much time as you need to polish and fine tune Twisted Metal so you can deliver the game you want to deliver.

dayummmmm… thats a bummer, but I also think this game deserves all the attention it truly deserves. I already had it paid off and preordered along with Resistance 3, ico/shadow, Uncharted 3, and was planning on getting AC:Revelations, Ratchet&Clank A4O, Metal Gear Solid Collection HD, and maybe RAGE. So it was probably a good call.
Like I said the sheeplike masses are going to gravitate towards MW3 (unfortunately) and are going to be really interested in Battlefield 3 (when all we’ve seen in PC footage- NO CONSOLE FOOTAGE). So yeah, good call. anyway like the poster above said, Jaffe you better play with us online and allow us to blow some [DELETED] up with ya LOL.
Keep it classy good sir :D PEACE

I forgot to mention that with the delay it increases my chances of buying the game. With the holiday season full of games I doubt I would have had the money to buy this game. With that said I will defiantly buy the game come early 2012! :)

i’m sure this game will only get better with time but don’t always believe this approach people take. look at Zipper with SOCOM 4 complete garbage even with the extra time. can you imagine what it would be like if it was released without the extra time?

Okay I just read that it will be shipping in 2012, at least it won’t be with the jam packed fall titles and at least there will be more exclusives for next year! So that Starhawk and Twisted Metal for 2012. Hopefully The Last Guardian will be there too!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! You don’t think David Jaffe/Sony won’t milk you for every last dime you have because they are extending their release window? You are ther biggest fan….and your middle name is Naive!

@38 (MarinoBrea): I think the word you’re looking for is ‘masochist’, not ‘sadist’ ;)

@51 (Massive__Attack): What dream world do you live in where ‘everyone else producing software’ meets delivery dates and budgets on complex enough software like this? Only projects producing relatively simple software or ones run and developed by robots can promise that.

They’re doing it the right way — they’ve done iterations and builds, decided it’s worth it to push back the release date, and it’ll be better software for it.

Let the “I’m not as good of a game as CoD or Battlefield” tards begin moving their release dates to avoid their metacritic’s score pale in comparison to AAA holiday titles. Has Jaffe released a single worthwhile title in a holiday window in the last 5 years? Doesn’t sound like a matter of polish but a matter of confidence. Whether it’s Jaffe’s call or Sony’s, this sounds like a complete punk move and as consumers, we are the ones who bare the burdon of waiting for them to grow a pair and complete with the giants of the industry. If you think you have a AAA title, release that mutha and let the consumer deceide your fate! Don’t hide from the spotlight of Christmas!
Delay this and I’ll buy it used and the developers will only get $10 for my online pass. YOUR MONEY INFLUENCES CHANGE……USE IT WISELY!

Wish I could expect good things from this but the push towards online assures it will be mediocre in comparison to Twisted Metal 2 which has gone unmatched even after all these years though I wish it wasn’t the case even though I still love playing it.

It’s funny how much everyone is squirming to make this seem like a good thing.

I really think this is crap cake drizzles in suk sauce!

What’s next?! Add-on cars for 4.99 to 9.99? Is that why so much of what I have seen centers around a couple characters? If Biz_Markee is right in #70 I’m officially not happy. REAL gamers h8 the knickle and dimming biz model. Those kinda things used to be in game unlocks in the old TMs!!! Your drunk on ego if you think TM is worth putting up with that crap.

I was really looking forward to playing TM in Oct but oh well, gotta do what you gotta do. Honestly I like the way you and the company Blizzard don’t really have dead lines, the product is finished when it is good. That means no rushing and having a bad product out and also no waiting months later to launch because that’s when you said it would be out.

I look forward to TM being a great game and hope that I can get a beta or demo before it launches

The only good thing about this all is thaty David Jaffe is THE ONLY dev I know of who has come personally to deliver the news and give us a reason. Whether it’s the whole reason or not is not for me to know. Only a handfull of people are privy to that. And for everybody complaining and bashing they know and we know you’re not really bagging on this game. That’s the disappointment and hurt talking. I feel somewhat betrayed too. But as usual we, myself included, will be there at midnight release with that feeling in our guts of anticipation. Ready to blow the crap out of friends and strangers alike. Car combat is like a beautiful dance of death…

One last thing on an unrelated topic. Why do I have to find out from other plares on PSN that Vita is delayed for the US? Why hasn’t Jack Tretton come into the blog a la David Jaffe and told us it is delayed? Or Kaz or anybody, hell, janitor #536 would be fine. Mr Tretton told me at E3 I’d have it this holiday season and there’s not a scrap of news on this blog about that. Why?

I really, really admire Mr. Jaffe’s humility. I totally agree that a bad game will forever be bad. I think us fans can easily wait for a super-awesome Twisted Metal game. I’m looking forward to it! Thanks for the blog post.

Yep, this actually helps me. Rage, Twisted Metal, and Battlefield 3 were all coming out the same month, as well as so many others. Just today, I cancelled my pre-order for Twisted Metal -very reluctantly- because I decided to keep only the ones with limited editions on pre-orders, as a means to cut the fat.

So this means I can put it back on pre-order! I probably would have had to get it in early 2012, anyway, due to limited budget.

Anyway, as I know from working in the publishing industry, it’s much better to be a little late while making the best possible product, rather than putting out something rushed. I think you guys made a wise choice and I’ll fully support you on it by locking in that pre-order again, and keeping it there ;)

i agree with nYcFrEeWiLL82 they better have a collectors edition for this game….but knowing them they would, it would be sick if they gave out a sweet tooth mask for it xD OMG THAT WOULD BE INSANE, but yea better relaese it late and have it perfect then now and it be almost perfect ;)